Eurovision brings pop and politics to Asia
- Last updated: November 8, 2026 | 09:38
Boasting K-pop and Bangladeshi beatboxing, Eurovision stages its first Asia edition this Saturday, bringing the European song contest's unique brand of kitsch and geopolitics to the world's most populous region.
From Laos to Mongolia and the Philippines, 11 countries are competing in the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia in Bangkok on November 14.
It will be broadcast live on television in participating countries and on YouTube -- but a question remains over whether anyone will be watching.
Eurovision is the world's biggest televised live music event, drawing 131 million viewers in 2026, and over the past 70 years has launched the careers of artists such as ABBA and Celine Dion.
The Asia edition is its first multinational expansion, although a US version was held in 2022 -- and was not repeated.
India, Japan and China are absent from the Bangkok event, while ticket sales have been sluggish.
"Eurovision is very big in Europe and it's very new in Asia," acknowledged executive producer Assaf Blecher.
But he said three years of preparations had fostered a public appetite for the show.
"Suddenly they understood the spirit of Eurovision," he said of those involved, hailing "the music, the extravagance".
"It's a window to other countries, to music, to people, to costumes," he told AFP, adding that he hoped it would be the first of many.
Some provocation
The finalists have been chosen through national competitions, some of them established stars such as Vietnam's Toc Tien, a favourite to win with her pop-dance track.
South Korea will be represented by K-pop star Junhee, Bangladesh is sending an all-male a cappella beatbox collective, Beatmosphere, while Pratik Himal Rai is rocking it out for Nepal.
The Asia edition comes as Eurovision marks its 70th birthday under a cloud, 2026 viewing figures down 35 million on the year after a boycott by five countries over Israel's participation.
But the contest has always been marked by controversy, from protests in the 1960s over the participation of Franco-ruled Spain to Russia's exclusion over the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters